Examining the perception of Iranian organizations on Internet of Things solutions and applications

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the perception of Iranian experts and executive managers of sample organizations on the benefits and barriers of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions implementation. Based on the context of Iran using descriptive analysis. Design/methodology/approach - Based on the review of the related literature and websites, benefits and barriers of successful implementation to IoTs solutions were identified. Through a self-administered questionnaire which was collected from 67 Iranian organizations the ranking and importance of benefits and barriers of IoTs solutions implementation were determined based on the perception of the experts of the surveyed organizations. Findings - Analysis of data and the obtained results reveals that "improved customer experience" and "Supply chain optimization and responsiveness" are the most important benefits that the survey organizations expect to reap as a result of IoTs solutions implementation. Also "Integration challenges" and "cannot find right suppliers" were ranked as the most challenging barriers to IoTs solutions implementation. Research limitations/implications - The findings and conclusions drawn from this research are representative of the Iranian context only. So, caution needs to be exercised in generalizing the results. Practical implications - The top management of Iranian organizations and also, policy makers of the country should be aware that IoTs solutions are being deployed rapidly throughout the globe. Therefore, it is necessary to increase investment in IT infrastructure and also by holding various training for employees and experts of Iranian organizations, and setting various IoT majors in the country's universities and vocational schools, efforts should be made to accelerate the deployment of IoTs solutions to keep pace with leading companies in the world. Originality/value - As IoTs is rather a new phenomenon in the Iranian industries this study has the potential to enhance the understanding of IoTs solutions and applications, benefits and barriers amongst researches and practitioners in the context of Iran. Also policymakers of the country could take advantage of the findings of this study toward a successful implementation of IoTs solutions and applications.